How to remove vines

Before you start

• Know the vine

  Cut invasive vines. Ask before you cut native ones.

  Which is which?

  The vines that harm trees most are usually invasive: English ivy, oriental bittersweet, porcelain berry, kudzu, Japanese honeysuckle and Asian wisteria. Wild grape and Virginia creeper are native and feed wildlife, and a land manager may want them left alone. If you are not sure, ask your county extension office or the land manager.

• Protect yourself

  Wear gloves, long sleeves, long pants and eye protection.

  Poison ivy and other hazards

  • Learn to spot poison ivy: three leaflets per leaf, and a hairy-looking vine on older trunks. Its oil stays active on dead vines, gloves and tools.
  • After contact, wash with soap and cool water soon. Wash your clothes separately.
  • Never burn poison ivy. Its smoke can injure your lungs.
  • Keep both feet on the ground. Do not climb the tree or use a ladder.
  • Stay away from any vine that touches a power line. Call the utility.
  • Check for ticks afterward, and watch for wasp and bee nests.

• Bring hand tools

  Pruners, loppers and a small folding saw do the whole job.

Free the tree

1. 1

   Cut each vine twice

   Once near the ground, once at shoulder height.

   Why two cuts?

   Pull out the piece between the cuts. The gap stops the upper vine from reconnecting to its roots.

2. 2

   Leave the upper vines in place

   They die and loosen over a few months.

   Why not pull them down?

   Pulling vines out of the canopy can tear bark, snap branches and drop debris on you.

3. 3

   Clear a ring around the trunk

   Pull ground vines 3 to 6 feet out from the trunk.

   Why a ring?

   Regrowth then has farther to travel before it can climb again.

4. 4

   Cut the vine, not the tree

   Keep blades off the bark.

   Why does it matter?

   Wounds in the bark let in rot and pests.

After

• Clean up

  Bag berries for the trash. Never compost them.

  Cut vines and herbicide

  Follow the land manager's instructions. English ivy can root again from cut pieces, so keep cut pieces off moist soil, or bag them. Do not use herbicide unless the owner or land manager approves it, and then follow the label exactly. Many parks forbid herbicide for volunteers.

• Come back

  Cut new shoots every few months.

  Why come back?

  Roots send up new shoots, most in spring and summer. Each visit takes less time than the last.

• Record it

  Mark the area resolved on Vinely, with how many trees you saved.